<VV> Re: Communique & CORSA Membership

[Dr. Robert Hill]

Even though I have had many differences with some of the folks within CORSA,
I keep my membership if for no other reason, to try to ensure CORSA has a
future.  It is the ONLY national organization dedicated tot he Corvair and I
believe it is in the best interest for Corvair owners to support this
organization.

I know I will get flamed for what I am about to say but so be it.  Corvair
owners are going to have stop being so dang cheap that they won't spend $35
to support the organization that supports the car they enjoy.  (For every
collector car I own that has an organization dedicated to it I have a
membership in that organization.  Half the time I never even read the
magazine they send out or at best I only glance through it so obviously I
don't join for the publication.)  Corvair owners are going to have to stop
asking "what's in it for me?" and start asking "what can I do to make it a
better organization?"   If you want a better CORSA, become an ACTIVE
member - and active doesn't mean being a whiner.  It means stepping up to
the plate and participating.  Spend as much energy helping as you do
complaining.  Yes, I was a Board member and yes I quit before my term was up
and if I had to do it over I would not have quit - why? Because I can make a
difference sitting back complaining and I am being somewhat hypocritical by
doing so.  I realize I will most likely never get to be active in CORSA (I
pissed too many folks off :-)  ) but if given an opportunity, I would help
however I could because if we Corvair owners don't help, we are the losers.

I think Harry does a great job on t he magazine.  While I would like to see
changes in how CORSA does things, I still support the officers.  No one says
you have to agree with them 100% to support them.  And if you don't like the
way they do things, join CORSA, run for the BoD and make a difference.  But
quit your whining if you are going to do anything but whine!

There - flame me all you want now :-)

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Jensen, CORSA Executive Secretary" <corsa@corvair.org>
To: "Virtual Vairs" <virtualvairs@corvair.org>
Cc: "Mike McGowan" <mcvair@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 5:22 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> Re: Communique & CORSA Membership


> Hi--
>
> Allow me to point out the obvious: the content of the Communique is
> directly proportional to those members who submit articles. If you want
> more tech articles, write them. If you want more photographs, take them.
If
> you want articles on how to drive an autocross or compete in a rally,
write
> it.
>
> This isn't meant to be a 'shot' at any one of you participating in this
> discussion, but simply a statement of fact. But let me also make the
> observation that if you are unwilling to contribute to make the Communique
> better, then you are part of the problem and not part of the solution.
>
> There are people on this list who have contributed a lot to the content of
> the Communique: Bob Helt and Craig Nicol have contributed much need tech
> material. Bill Stanley has contributed feature material. There are many
> other people who have contributed to the content who are not on this list,
> but should be recognized just the same. The David E. Davis article was
> almost entirely due to the efforts of Mike McGowan. Dave Newell
contributes
> his historical perspective on many, many articles which have been
published
> including the recent feature on the obscure 1960 parking brake.
>
> Regarding reprints from the Tech Guides: This material is **available**
for
> all those who want it. Most of the material was published already in the
> Communique. If one would like to take a topic, say push-rod tube seals,
and
> write a comprehensive article which encompasses all the techniques
> published in the past Communiques, I think that would be beneficial.
>
> Virtually all of the articles submitted for publication get published. If
> you have an article which was not published, resubmit it. The main reason
> we do not publish an article is that some submissions like event reports
> are submitted so late that the results are no longer relevant.
>
> Take care....
>
> --H
>
>
>
> At 03:20 PM 2/3/2005, Alan Wesson wrote:
> >Bob wrote:
> >
> >>I realize that the Communique is not a riveting page-turner but I am not
> >>able to put my finger on what it may be missing.
> >
> >* Fewer event reports (not interesting unless you have actually been
there!).
> >
> >* Fewer concours and competition results (not interesting unless you have
> >won one).
> >
> >* Fewer mentions of who ate what food at what event (not interesting
> >unless you have eaten it!).
> >
> >* More reprints of period road tests and articles.
> >
> >* More photographs taken at meets (colour if the budget can run to it).
> >
> >* More tech stuff (how about reprints of pages from the Tech Guide, if
> >no-one is forthcoming at producing them?!). Perhaps lclc could be
> >approached to ask which pages that are already in the Tech Guide are the
> >ones that people most often tell him ought to be added to it, because I
> >seem to remember it being a source of constant annoyance to him (and
> >rightly so!). If he provided a list, these could be reprinted in the
> >Communique one by one on a monthly basis.
> >
> >* More photos with the ads (can't get my head round non-photo ads). If
not
> >enough are booked, cut the prices - you'll get more ads anyway, so you
> >won't lose out.
> >
> >* More handy hints (e.g. 'how to lay your car up for the winter; how to
> >get stains out of the seats; how to rid your car of rodent odours, etc.).
> >Another club I am in reprints particularly useful emails from the forum,
> >for the benefit of those who missed them, and for posterity for those who
> >didn't.
> >
> >* More 'autocross driving and handling techniques' kind of thing - in
> >England we call it 'roadcraft', but this would be for track use as well.
> >
> >* More Vair trivia (there is quite a lot of good trivia (sorry - there
are
> >quite a lot of good trivia!) in 'The Complete Corvair...'.
> >
> >* Tour notes ('lost highways of America' kind of thing) - I am always
> >looking for new places to drive my Vair on the (too-few) occasions when I
> >am in the USA with time on my hands. How about a scenic drive from coast
> >to coast, in sequential articles over, say, a year, and totally avoiding
> >Interstates? Most of the info could be pulled from the Web, if the
> >copyright holders were in agreement (And perhaps if they weren't!).
> >
> >I do get a bit tired of reading about the 'Mid-October annual fall
> >barbecue at the Mall in downtown Smallville, attended by 3 Vairs, each of
> >which won a concours prize because it was the only one in its class'.
>
> |--------------------------------------------------------------
> | Harry Jensen  mailto:corsa@corvair.org
> | CORSA Executive Secretary
> |
> | Corvair Society of America (CORSA)
> | P.O. Box 607, Lemont, IL 60439, 630.257.6530  fax 630.257.5540
> | http://www.corvair.org
> |--------------------------------------------------------------
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